Got my butt (and ego!) kicked by biking lol

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buffalogal42
buffalogal42 Posts: 374 Member
edited October 2019 in Fitness and Exercise
I recently moved to a place that is steps from the start of a 50ish mile bike trail that is supposed to be awesome. I have read all about it and people say it is relatively flat once you get a couple miles out and that it is good for beginners or leisure riders.

All summer I have been pushing hubby to ride it with me. I had it in my head that we could ride it all one way, stay over at a cute B&B and ride back the next day. He kept telling me I was insane. So I said ok we’ll ride 20 miles to a winery, have lunch and come back. He still said I was insane but finally caved yesterday on a beautiful fall day. So we went and rented a couple bikes and ...

Ok, first, I left out a key detail. Lol 1) Hubby and I have been on a bike exactly once in the last 25 years (I am 42 now) and that was for a 6 mile ride around an island. I just assumed that since we are both fairly fit and well, since riding a bike is like ... riding a bike ... that we could hop on and go.

Wanna guess how the story ends? Whoever described the “little hills” going out of the city really undersold them! Lol - I was huffing and puffing and ready to die after about 5 miles. I caved and told hubby he was right and we headed back.

On a positive note, I rode 10 miles! Lol But my butt today is paying the price.

Cautionary tale against over confidence!
But it was fun and maybe I can work my way up! (Also, I had no idea how bike gears worked 😂😂😂)

Replies

  • girlwithcurls2
    girlwithcurls2 Posts: 2,259 Member
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    Oh dear. Sounds like a great advertisement for cross training!! You've got a new fitness goal! I commend your enthusiasm (and optimism). You couldn't get me on a bike for love or money. Well, never say "never" but I reeeaaally don't like bikes. When I started swimming, I could barely go 25y (1 length... as in "down" but not "back") but I could easily run 6 miles on the trail. Cross training is hard. Think how great you'll feel a year from now. Sooner, probably! Good luck!!
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    That’s awesome you’re so close to a great bike trail! I have to drive well over an hour to get to one, and not that long. 10 mi is great after 25 yrs. Just keep working at and you’ll get up 50.
  • vivo1972
    vivo1972 Posts: 129 Member
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    That's a fab distance for someone who hasn't ridden in years - be proud! My first ride was about 3 miles and nearly had a heart attack lol (I was doing half marathons at the time so was stunned)

    +1 for the gel saddle cover, it takes a while for your nether regions to get used to it and gawd it can ache

    You will have so much fun, on a bike you go places you haven't been to before and feel great :)

  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,840 Member
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    buffalogal42 wrote: »
    I recently moved to a place that is steps from the start of a 50ish mile bike trail that is supposed to be awesome.

    On a positive note, I rode 10 miles! Lol But my butt today is paying the price.
    But it was fun and maybe I can work my way up! (Also, I had no idea how bike gears worked 😂😂😂)

    A 50ish mile bike trail would be awesome!! The longest one we've got around here is 13 km (one way). :neutral:

    And yes, you can work your way up. :)

  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
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    lorrpb wrote: »
    That’s awesome you’re so close to a great bike trail! I have to drive well over an hour to get to one, and not that long. 10 mi is great after 25 yrs. Just keep working at and you’ll get up 50.

    Have you done the Elwha road? It's been on my list for years. I think it's closed to cars and open to bikes.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
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    Definitely something you need to build up to. A 1/2 century untrained would be pretty brutal I think...hell, even when I was training for them, they left me pretty wiped.

    Learning to use your gears will help a lot on the hills...a lot of novice cyclists don't properly use their gears. I'd also recommend padded cycling shorts
  • buffalogal42
    buffalogal42 Posts: 374 Member
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    Is there a training program for biking like a C25K type plan? Or just try a bit more in increments? I am going to defeat those hills and get to my B&B some day! 😃
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    buffalogal42 wrote: »
    Is there a training program for biking like a C25K type plan? Or just try a bit more in increments? I am going to defeat those hills and get to my B&B some day! 😃

    Adding 10% distance a week works but if you like a plan then The British Heart Foundation give a load of great beginner cycling advice and plans as they run quite a few charity rides that attract new or leisure riders and them up to 50 (and more) miles.....

    Drill down from here
    https://www.bhf.org.uk/how-you-can-help/events/training-zone/cycling-training-zone


    PS - to get better on hills, use the rights gears so you are leaning primarily on your CV system not your muscle strength, ride a lot of hills and try hard.

  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,521 Member
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    I love that story, it demonstrates an adventurous spirit!

    I hope you try some more. It gets better!

    If the open trail is a bit to hard right now, you can start with a "spin class." It's a good option if the trail is not passable in winter. You build up the muscles on the stationary bike (where you control the resistance) then hit the trail in the spring, by which time, you'll be a monstah!
  • yogagirl1963
    yogagirl1963 Posts: 4 Member
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    I have ridden in the MS150 for 10 years and it kicks my butt every year. I HATE riding in the cold so I don't ride during the cold months and every year it is like starting over. Every year my beginning ride is 10 miles and wonder how I ever ride 80 in a day, but I do because I work up to it little by little and add in weekend rides with a team.

    Don't give up! If I can do it, anybody can do it! I LOVE riding and going down hills is the pay-off of going up them! :) Zoom-Zoom!!!!
  • vivo1972
    vivo1972 Posts: 129 Member
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    Also look at Breeze rides for women in your area, they are good fun. LetsRide are mixed gender groups. :)
  • TheMrWobbly
    TheMrWobbly Posts: 2,523 Member
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    Never believe what the cycling web-sites say or the reviews by cyclists. I can only assume these people are nutters! I took on my first real ride in September after a couple of months commuting 7 miles twice a day. "Avoids the big hills" they said on the route I chose. Oh my word! What were these hills compared to? Mount Everest? They were steep and long.

    I haven't been out on anything that isn't flat since but one day...
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Definitely something you need to build up to. A 1/2 century untrained would be pretty brutal I think...hell, even when I was training for them, they left me pretty wiped.

    Learning to use your gears will help a lot on the hills...a lot of novice cyclists don't properly use their gears. I'd also recommend padded cycling shorts

    Speaking of butt kicked on half centuries, I did a hilly one a couple years ago, went by a house with an aggressive unleashed dog at mile fourty-something. Talk about motivation for a sprint when the tank is running low!! Cujo came up snarling behind me, faster than I was at that moment. I threw my water bottle at the dog and missed by a country mile, but it ran off chasing the bottle instead, giving me time to open a gap and book it out of there.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
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    TheMrWobbly wrote: »
    Never believe what the cycling web-sites say or the reviews by cyclists. I can only assume these people are nutters! I took on my first real ride in September after a couple of months commuting 7 miles twice a day. "Avoids the big hills" they said on the route I chose. Oh my word! What were these hills compared to? Mount Everest? They were steep and long.

    I haven't been out on anything that isn't flat since but one day...

    Road cyclists are masochists. I like riding up mountain passes. Sometimes I wish I could ride up and then get a lift back down, the uphill part is the most fun.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
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    buffalogal42 wrote: »
    Is there a training program for biking like a C25K type plan? Or just try a bit more in increments? I am going to defeat those hills and get to my B&B some day! 😃

    @buffalogal42

    I can't find my exact training plan I did for my first 1/2 century, but it was very similar to this, only modified for a 1/2 rather than a full century in terms of time in the saddle.

    https://www.cyclingweekly.com/fitness/training/cycling-training-plan-beginner-153317

    Most of my block 1 (first 4 weeks) rides were 30-45 minutes...my long rides were 60 minutes...this got me comfortable in the saddle and got my *kitten* used to riding.

    Block 2 was mostly 45-60 minute rides with my long rides being 90 minutes with one long ride being 120 minutes.

    Block 3 was mostly 60-90 minute rides with long rides of 2 hours and 3 hours.

    I didn't really bother with the zones and all that stuff as my goal was just to be able to do the mileage relatively comfortably and I was just doing a charity ride.
  • riffraff2112
    riffraff2112 Posts: 1,757 Member
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    haha many of us have been there. I have found when the terrain is flat, you can literally take a few years off and find a suitable place and as you mentioned, it is like riding a bike. Add hills, or a strong headwind..oh boy what a game changer.
    The seat problem can be minimized with bike shorts or a decent padded seat but I definitely know that sometimes it takes a week to get over that pain! ouch

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